Bolton Wanderers and England legend Nat Lofthouse dies aged 85

Nat Lofthouse epitomised the kind of English centre forward that has become an
intrinsic part of football culture and in his extraordinarily prolific
career with Bolton Wanderers become the kind of iconic one-club servant so
rarely seen in the contemporary game.

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Legend of the game: Nat Lofthouse was one of England's finestPhoto: PA

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The Lion of Vienna: Nat Lofthouse had one of the greatest goals-per-game ratios of any player to represent England at the highest levelPhoto: REX

Lofthouse was born in Bolton in 1925 and began playing for his hometown club at the beginning of the Second World War. In a taste of what was to come, he scored twice on his debut against Bury on March 22 1941 but did not makes his full league debut until the war was over.

He scored twice in that game too as Bolton lost 4-3 to Chelsea on August 31 1946.

Under manager Bryan Edwards, Lofthouse developed into one of the most prolific strikers in the country and he scored 255 goals in 452 league appearances, and 285 in 503 overall, for Bolton between 1946 and 1960.

He is the seventh highest goalscorer in the history of the top flight. "He was a one-club man and our football club meant as much to him as he did to us," said Bolton chairman Phil Gartside. "I would like to extend our deepest condolences to Nat's family, who are very much in our thoughts at this time," added Gartside in a statement on the

Bolton website. “We will miss him but we will celebrate his life, his legacy and great times that he brought to Bolton."

Lofthouse played, captained and scored in arguably the most famous FA Cup final in the history of the competition – the Matthews final of 1953.

Blackpool beat Bolton 4-3 with Stanley Matthews delivering his historic performance and Stan Mortensen scoring a hat-trick for the winners.

In scoring in the final, after just two minutes, Lofthouse scored in every round of the FA Cup that season. He was named English footballer of the year for 1953 and it remains one of the best season’s by any centre-forward in the history of English football.

He had better luck in the FA Cup five years later, as Bolton won the trophy in 1958, Lofthouse scoring twice as Bolton beat Manchester United at Wembley. The game was not without controversy however.

The Munich Air crash had happened three months earlier and United were still in mourning. The nation’s football fans naturally had much sympathy for United.

Lofthouse gave a physical performance and, for his second goal, actually barged the United goalkeeper Harry Gregg over the line with a shoulder charge.

The tactic was legitimate at the time but remains one of the most controversial goals in the history of the FA Cup final.

Lofthouse did not win as many caps as his prolific club form might have suggested but in his 33 games for England, he scored a remarkable 30 goals.

He earned the nickname “The Lion of Vienna’ for his heroic performance against Austria in 1952, scoring a famous goal while the Austrian defence tried to step him with three separate fouls.

Lofthouse won his final cap on 26 November 1958, against Wales, at the age of 33. He retired from club football in 1960.

Lofthouse became a coach at Bolton soon after he quit playing and, after a brief spell as a caretaker manager, took the manager’s job in 1968.

He continued to work at the club in various capacities, including working as the chief scout. He had a second spell as caretaker in 1985 and a year later was named club president.

He was a freeman of the city of Bolton and received an OBE for his services to football. In 1997 Bolton named the East stand of the Reebok stadium after the top scorer in their history. His name is inextricably linked with the football club.